MINING VILLAGE SCENES OF DURHAM
NORTH EAST ENGLAND
BY LYNDA TAYLOR
In my remembered Mining Village series of paintings I am recreating iconic images from my childhood. In comparison to today's children, we enjoyed a lot of freedom to roam the neighbourhood and explore the local streets, allotments, quarry, woods and railway lines. With hindsight I realise that we risked serious injury and reprimand on a daily basis and it's surprising that we generally escaped our adventures and explorations unscathed.
These pieces reflect that vanished mining community - a nostalgic, remembered place of pigeon crees rising like ocean liners down by the railway tracks, old men in allotments alternately digging and smoking, retired miners on benches discussing matters of the day, and smoggy wet streets reflecting the orange street lights.
